The First War: Love Story
by BellaBeeWrites
Summary: Brief snapshots from Lily and James' time at Hogwarts, leading to sixth year, when their relationship begins to change. The story of their love/hate relationship and life during the first wizarding war. Canon.
1. Chapter 1

**First Year**

James

The train was slowing down. At last. James and Sirius leapt up, filling their pockets with the remaining sweets. By the time the carriage shuddered to a halt, they were already reaching for their trunks. James grabbed the top of his new owl's cage and they both tumbled out onto the platform.

"What's his name then?"

"Shakespeare."

Sirius snorted.

"Hey, it was my mum's idea, he was a muggle writer or something; she reads a lot of muggle plays."

"Firs' years this way, come on, come on."

A huge man stood at the end of the platform holding a lantern, calling over the heads of students.

"Hagrid." Said James.

"mm, my parents aren't his biggest fans, if you catch my drift…"

Oh, well I've known him my whole life, so you'll get to know him soon enough. He's great!"

They came to a halt at the edge of a stone jetty, where a fleet of small boats waited.

"Alrigh' there James? Excited? In ya get then."

Lily

The boats moved slowly across the lake. Severus had begun a conversation about the sorting, but Lily's mind was wandering.

 _Lily, come on, we're leaving!_

"Anyway, You'd better be in Slytherin, like I said. I'll be in there for sure, but…."

 _You're a freak Lily, I'm telling Mummy._

"Hufflepuffs are a bunch of idiots…"

 _Are you serious? We can write? Lily, I don't_ want _to keep in touch._

 _But Tuney, we're sisters, you're my best friend!_

 _Was. You've replaced me now._

 _What?! You think Sev's replaced you? You can't…_

"and Ravenclaw. They're all really stuck up, not as smart as they think, either."

 _It's good you're being separated from normal people. It's for our safety._

"But, Lily, you can't be sorted into Gryffindor, it's the worst. You really can't. Brave at heart!" Severus scoffed and Lily dragged her thoughts back into the present. In the run up to today, she'd been dwelling on Sev's descriptions of the different houses a lot. If Lily was honest with herself, Slytherin sounded awful. Ravenclaw sounded quite good, but Lily hadn't a very high opinion of herself, and was certain she wasn't clever enough. Gryffindor sounded like the arch enemy of Slytherin, and she didn't want to set herself against Sev from the word go, she had never been put in any danger and wasn't sure how far her courage stretched anyway. Hufflepuff sounded like the most probable option, the only qualities that Lily knew and admired in herself were her kindness and patience, Hufflepuff would be an ok outcome, despite the derogatory tone Sev spoke in. Deep down, Lily knew she wouldn't be a Slytherin, she was muggleborn. Severus was kidding himself.

"Lily, are you OK? You're thinking about the mu- Your sister again, aren't you?"

"I miss her Sev." Lily turned her face away so Sev couldn't see her expression, hence missing the half exasperated, half smugly superior look on his.

"Nearly there!" Whispered Severus. Lily muttered an unintelligible response as the boats bumped gently against the shore.

Lily

Lily stood in the vaulted stone entrance hall and listened intently to everything that Professor McGonagall said. She felt mildly frustrated by the two irritating boys, whispering on her left, but kept her expression neutral and did not turn her head. Her excitement about being sorted was building and she couldn't wait to be sorted. She hurried forward as the doors opened and the first years surged through, faltering slightly at the sight of every face in the huge hall turned towards them expectantly. The room was spectacular, huge, great stone walls sloping at the top towards a ceiling of stars. Bewitched, Lily knew, she had already read Hogwarts: A History. Twice!

The sorting hat was old and battered, but Lily knew that looks could be deceiving. She listened carefully to the rhyming verse that came pouring from a wide rip near the brim;

"so now you'll wait and I'll decide, for in which house you shall reside." The resultant clapping died out quickly as the sorting began. Lily's hands were clenched so tightly that her nails cut into her palms as she stood waiting for her turn.

"Not Slytherin, that's for sure. Kind, patient, loyal, Hufflepuff, perhaps? Brains…" The hat mumbled indistinctly for a minute or two, before "Gryffindor!" Lily was torn between surprise, relief and regret. With a last glance back at Sev, She turned and moved slowly to the table.

James

James was rocking back and forwards on the balls of his feet, eager to confirm what he already knew. Sirius, already becoming a fast friend, had broken tradition and joined the Gryffindor table.

"Potter, James." Finally.

"Mm, interesting. You have your father's courage, but I feel your mother's kindness might lie beneath. And her intelligence too… No doubt really, Gryffindor!" James practically ran to the Gryffindor table, squeezing in between Sirius and a pale, serious looking boy. When the sorting came to an end, the boy introduced himself as Remus Lupin and the three began a conversation just as the dishes filled with an array of delicious food.

Many platefuls later, James finally stopped eating. He felt comfortably full and sat contemplating is new housemates as they carried on their conversations. Sirius was very like James, but more reckless and easy-going. James knew they were going to be very good friends. Having learnt some more about Sirius' family, he now remembered snippets of some overheard conversations between his parents and their friends and colleagues. He didn't doubt what Sirius told him; the Black family were exactly the kind of people his mother had tried to shield him from. James wondered vaguely what his parents would say when they learnt that he was well on the way to being best mates with a Black. Remus Lupin was odd, thought James. He seemed very nervous and self-effacing, but he clearly had very distinct ideas about right and wrong and seemed like a very genuine person. James liked him. Euphemia Potter was a very perceptive person, a quality that her son had inherited. Unless James was much mistaken, Remus had some carefully hidden, but deep self-disgust. James, who was extremely confident, verging on arrogance, and couldn't imagine disliking himself, so this aspect of Remus' character intrigued him.

There was a loud scraping noise and the benches were pushed back, bringing both James and Lily, who had been daydreaming, back to reality. Sighing, both rose from their respective positions and allowed themselves to be shepherded out of the hall by a red-headed prefect who introduced himself as Arthur.

Lily

Much later in the evening, Lily stood by the fire, silent. The common room was buzzing with first night chatter, but Lily's excitement was somewhat dimmed by her separation from Sev.

"Hello." Said a voice loudly. Someone was standing right behind her. Lily groaned inwardly, it was the boy from the train. She said nothing, but arranged her features into what she hoped was a condescending expression.

"What's up?" James continued.

"Well, you, in short. Leave me alone." She wasn't going to tell this boy that Petunia hated her, she was feeling the kind of wobbly sadness that came with being away from home and she hadn't seen Severus since they were sorted. Instead, she turned and stormed up the stairs to the girls dorms.

"Hi! I saw you at supper earlier, I'm Alice Fortescue, this is Marlene Mckinnon and Mary Macdonald, and-"

"Emmeline Vance." Supplied the black-haired girl.

"I'm Lily Evans." She took a deep calming breath; "It's lovely to meet you all."

Lily

The dormitory was decorated similarly to the common room. The walls were draped in red and gold hangings, Gryffindor flags and embroideries. The dark floorboards had a worn but cosy look and the beds, chests and tables were weathered mahogany. Each bed had a few pillows, a duvet and numerous red blankets, as well as a colourful patchwork quilt. Lying on her back, Lily marveled at the way her belongings had been arranged on her dressing table and chest of drawers in the same way she would have put them herself. A photo of her family; Petunia's arm slung carelessly across her shoulders, smiling happily, her hairbrush and lipbalm, a glass of water, a small cactus in glass pot, a picture of her beloved dog, Polly and another of her friend Alicia, from muggle primary school. Little pieces of her muggle life, carried with her into this new one. Her clothes had been folded in the drawers, her robes draped over the heater in the centre of the room (turned off as the September weather was warm) and trunk stowed underneath her bed. She wondered vaguely who had done the tidying and unpacking, before, listening to Alice Fortescue's soft snores, she drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **James**

It was Saturday and the first years had completed two days at Hogwarts. Term had begun on Wednesday, the 1st of September. James was sitting at the Gryffindor table with Sirius, Remus and a small boy called Peter, who had recently taken to following them around like a faithful pet. James helped himself to bacon and poured himself a glass of pumpkin juice. Across from him, Peter was staring adoringly at Sirius, who was attempting to balance his juice on the end of his knife, which he had stood upright on the table. James raised his eyebrows and snorted when the experiment came crashing down, slopping bright orange liquid across the table. He glanced up at Remus and his brow creased into a frown.

"You ok? Remus?"

"What? Oh, yes I'm fine. Just a bit tired and I didn't…but I'll just…" His babbling broke off as the other two boys looked up too. Remus looked awful. His skin was pale, except the dull red rising in his cheeks, he had dark purple smudges under his eyes and he was very jittery, jumping at every small noise.

"Are you sure?" asked Sirius, his usual carefree grin replaced with a look of concern.

"Well yes. No. Actually, I need to tell you something. I have to go home tomorrow."

"WHAT?" chorused the others, horrified.

"Only for a few days! My mother's sick and I have to visit her every month or so. I'm sorry, I should've told you sooner…"

"That's alright mate." Said James "We're really sorry about your mum, is it serious?"

"Not really, she just likes to see me when she's feeling particularly bad." Remus was spared any further interrogation as-

"Oh look! Post's here."

 **Lily**

Alice suddenly stopped mid-sentence and looked up. Owls were streaming into the great hall and dropping all manner of packages on their recipients. Lily had only seen this once and she was very excited when two owls broke off from the rest, sailing down towards where she sat with Alice and Marlene.

"Finally, Mum's answered me!" exclaimed Marlene, opening the letter attached to a large brown box. "Oh good, she's sent my blue jumper and the bedside clock that I left behind."

Alice laughed. "Are you always this forgetful? Or is it just the start of term rush!"

"Oh, always!" Marlene answered, launching into a tale of some of her worst mishaps. Lily stared down at the letter in her hands in silence. It wasn't that she wasn't pleased to have received an answer to the letter she sent to her parents, but she had hoped there might be another one with it. After all, she had written to Petunia as well. Maybe Tuney really had meant what she said on the station platform. The weekend chatter around her faded to a dull hum as the word rang louder and louder in her ears. _Freak._

 **James**

 _My Dearest James,_

 _I'm so glad that you are enjoying school and have made some friends already. In your letter you sounded a bit worried that we wouldn't accept your friendship with Sirius Black. James, I will be completely honest with you; you know our views on the Black family and all that they stand for, but never ever doubt that I have complete faith in you and your judge of character. If you wrote to me telling me that you wanted one of the Malfoys to come and stay with us for Christmas then I would- well I might have to draw the line before then, but joking aside, I trust you and therefore I trust your choice of friends. Besides, if the rumours are anything to go on, the poor child may need somewhere to stay in the holidays!_

James snorted at his mother's choice of words. 'Poor child'? Sirius was older than he was, shaking his head, he continued reading.

 _Apparently Orion and Walburga Black are absolutely furious that their oldest son has been made a Gryffindor. Congratulations on that matter, by the way, we knew you would be in your father's house, but we are both terribly proud of you anyway. On a different matter, the elves want to know if they can give your room a deep cleaning now that you're away at school. I told them that I'd check with you, but I expect they'll go ahead anyway so be warned. Twill misses you; he hasn't said anything, but I've found him in your room twice now, he misses being bossed around. He's currently making a treacle tart for me to send to you, so I'll put it in the box with the rest of the stuff I'm sending._

 _I know that you won't have had many lessons yet, but do write and tell me what subjects you're enjoying, I expect that you'll take after your father and enjoy transfiguration! What are you up to this weekend? Your father and I are going to visit your aunt and uncle, they just got back from visiting your cousins in America. I'll write and tell you all about their trip soon._

 _I've sent on your spare scarf as it's getting colder and also some more socks because the elves, and I agree, don't think you took enough. I'm going to pack up the treacle tart now and also a bag of chocolate frogs, so I want you to share the food with your new friends._

 _The house is very peaceful without you, but your father and I miss you very much. Dad sends you his love and says he'll write to you on Monday, but he's currently out at a sales meeting for Sleekeazy's._

 _All my love,_

 _Mum xx_

James was grinning by the time he finished the letter. It had been stupid to worry about whether his parents would mind Sirius being a Black. He was glad to hear from his mother and although he would never admit it, he missed them too and would look forward to his father's letter. Smiling even more widely, he opened the box of goodies.

 **Lily**

 _Dear Lily,_

 _Did you know that an owl delivered your letter!? Daddy and I were so excited when it tapped on the back window! Hogwarts sounds amazing, I'm so glad that you have made some friends already; Alice sounds like she's your closest friend so far, we'll have to meet her when we pick you up at Christmas. Marlene and Mary sound great too and I don't think you told us the name of the last girl in your dorm so be sure to put that in your next letter. How are your classes so far? Tell us everything, what's your favourite lesson? Petunia wanted to write, but she's been very busy at school, she sends her love. Margaret from up the road has just arrived, so I'm going to hand over to your father, but I'll write again soon._

 _All my love,_

 _Mummy xx_

There was a break in Lily's mother's sloping script and then the letter began again, this time in her father's untidy scrawl.

 _To my very grown up Lily,_

 _How are you enjoying school? I bet Hogwarts is very different to my boarding school! You sounded very happy in your letter; don't worry too much about being in a different house to Severus, you sound as though you've made some great new friends. You can still see him._

Lily wasn't fooled, her father had never liked Sev very much.

 _I've got to get out to work soon, so I can't write much; I've got a new client who could get my sales target right back up, which would be great, so you can stop worrying about that. I'll let you know how it goes. Grandma and Grandad are coming down at the weekend so we're going to have to put the grammar school story into play then. Anyway, write again soon munchkin._

 _I love you Lily-petal,_

 _Daddy_

Feeling much cheered up, but not convinced by the 'Petunia's busy' line, Lily finished her breakfast happily, joining in Marlene and Alice's conversation. She was relieved that her father had some work coming in; he was right, she had been worried. Just then, Mary came rushing up, her hair still wet from a shower, muttering about oversleeping. The three girls all laughed.

"Why didn't you wake me?" She grumbled.

"Chill, it's the weekend!" Laughed Marlene.

"Is it? Oh no, I could've stayed in bed!" Mary looked so dismayed that the other three girls all fell about laughing again.

 **Author's Note**

 **Before I say anything, thank you so much to (I can't put your name in, but you know who you are!) for posting my first ever review, you're the reason I tried to hurry with this chapter; I hope you liked it!**

 **I wasn't sure about this chapter as I was writing it, but I ended up quite liking it, so I hoped you did too. I was going to go straight to third year after chapter one, but I had this really sweet idea about Lily and James receiving their first letters from home. I am really looking forward to getting into the story properly though so I think I will move on now!**

 **Reviews are the sound of rain on windows when you're all warm and cosy in bed ;-)**

 **Bee xx**


End file.
